'African tribe' leader deported after eviction from Scots woodland

A Ghanaian man who led a self-styled African tribe in the Scottish Borders has been deported, the Home Office has confirmed.

Kofi Offeh, who describes himself as King Atehene, set up camp with two women in a wooded area near Jedburgh last year.

They called themselves the Kingdom of Kubala and a series of attempts were made to evict them from the council-owned site.

They were finally moved from the woodland in October last year.

Local media filmed Offeh arriving at Kotoko international airport in Accra, Ghana, earlier this week.

Offeh's group has a large online presence, with more than 100,000 followers on TikTok and Facebook, and has received worldwide media attention.

During their time in the Borders, they said they were reclaiming land stolen from their ancestors 400 years ago and refused to recognise the powers of the courts to evict them.

Their eviction was streamed live on TikTok as Offeh and "handmaiden" Kaura Taylor, from Texas, were handcuffed by immigration officers.

They were arrested on suspicion of immigration offences but it was later reported that Taylor had been released.

Jean Gasho, 43, who is originally from Zimbabwe and calls herself Queen Nandi, left with her head covered, lying low in the back of a pick-up truck.

Offeh and Gasho first arrived in Jedburgh in the spring of 2025. They were joined by Taylor, who called herself Asnat, later.

Scottish Borders Council initially evicted the trio from a hillside site above Jedburgh in July.

But rather than leave the area, they moved about a mile further out of town to a woodland next to an industrial estate.

The owners of the land, David and Mary Palmer, successfully applied for the tribe to be evicted in September - but they failed to comply with the order.

When they were moved from their makeshift encampment by sheriff officers later that month, they set up a new camp a few metres away.

It was on the other side of a wire fence, and on land owned by Scottish Borders Council.

Legal action continued as the council tried to use the courts to evict the so-called tribe.

They were finally removed from their camp last October during an early morning operation involving police, immigration officers and sheriff officers.

A convoy of police cars swept in at about 08:00 that morning before the "tribe" were led from the site.

Within a couple of hours, council officers were seen throwing bags of blankets, clothes, food and drink into the back of a refuse lorry.